i
The Hurricane Harvey (2017) Texas Rainstorm: Synoptic Analysis and Sensitivity to Soil Moisture
-
2020
Source: Mon. Wea. Rev. (2020) 148 (6): 2479–2502.
Select the Download button to view the document
This document is over 5mb in size and cannot be previewed
Details:
-
Journal Title:Monthly Weather Review
-
Personal Author:
-
NOAA Program & Office:
-
Description:A synoptic analysis and soil moisture (SM) sensitivity experiment is conducted on the record-breaking rainstorm in Texas associated with Hurricane Harvey on 26–30 August 2017. The rainstorm occurred as the moist tropical air mass associated with Harvey was lifted along a frontogenetical near-surface coastal baroclinic zone beneath the equatorward entrance region of an upper-level jet streak. The weak steering winds in Harvey’s environment, allowing Harvey to remain nearly stationary, were associated with a deformation steering flow pattern characterized by a trough to the north and flanking ridges to the west and east. This pattern has occurred with other notable tropical cyclone rainstorms along the Gulf Coast, except in Harvey’s case it contributed to the collocation of deep tropical moisture and a persistent midlatitude lifting mechanism. Motivated by marked increases in SM during the rainstorm, a suite of six numerical simulations is used to test the sensitivity of the Harvey rainstorm (track, intensity, and rainfall) to varying SM. These simulations include dry, realistic, and wet SM conditions and an additional three runs with the initial SM held constant throughout the simulations. The results showed that track and prelandfall intensity were most sensitive to SM. Decreased SM resulted in the 1) development of an anticyclone in the southern plains that steered Harvey farther southwest in Texas, and 2) interruption in the intensification of Harvey in the Gulf of Mexico as dry air in the Yucatan Peninsula was entrained into Harvey’s circulation, contributing to a weaker system at landfall. Implications of these findings on the evolution of tropical systems are also discussed.
-
Keywords:
-
Source:Mon. Wea. Rev. (2020) 148 (6): 2479–2502.
-
Document Type:
-
Place as Subject:
-
Rights Information:Other
-
Compliance:Submitted
-
Main Document Checksum:urn:sha256:e94b00949034cc4f01e06cf0edc296c322cc25d96e387f40c6b6005c91fd52d5
-
File Type:
Supporting Files
-
No Additional Files
More +
Related Documents
-
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
- File Format:
- RIS
Variational Assimilation of Radar Data and GLM Lightning-Derived Water Vapor for the Short-Term Forecasts of High-Impact Convective EventsCitePersonal Author:Fierro, Alexandre O. ;Wang, Yunheng...2019 | Mon. Wea. Rev. (2019) 147 (11): 4045–4069.Description:The assimilation of water vapor mass mixing ratio derived from total lightning data from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) within a three-dimen...Neighborhood- and Object-Based Probabilistic Verification of the OU MAP Ensemble Forecasts during 2017 and 2018 Hazardous Weather TestbedsCitePersonal Author:Johnson, Aaron ;Wang, Xuguang...2020 | Wea. Forecasting (2020) 35 (1): 169–191.Description:An object-based probabilistic (OBPROB) forecasting framework is developed and applied, together with a more traditional neighborhood-based framework, ...Personal Author:Weckwerth, Tammy M., 1966- ;Hanesiak, John...2019 | Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. (2019) 100 (11): 2223–2239.Description:Nocturnal convection initiation (NCI) is more difficult to anticipate and forecast than daytime convection initiation (CI). A major component of the P...Personal Author:Zrnić, Dušan S. ;Zhang, Pengfei...2020 | Atmosphere 2020, 11(4), 363.Description:Weather surveillance radars routinely detect smoke of various origin. Of particular significance to the meteorological community are wildfires in fore...A Method to Control the Environmental Wind Profile in Idealized Simulations of Deep Convection with Surface FrictionCitePersonal Author:Dawson, Daniel T. ;Roberts, Brett...2019 | Mon. Wea. Rev. (2019) 147 (11): 3935–3954.Description:In idealized, horizontally homogeneous, cloud model simulations of convective storms, the action of surface friction can substantially modify the near...The Impact of Elevation Sidelobe Contamination on Radar Data Quality for Operational InterpretationCitePersonal Author:Nai, Feng ;Boettcher, Jami...2020 | J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol. (2020) 59 (4): 707–724.Description:To fulfill the evolving observational needs of the National Weather Service (NWS), future weather radar systems will have to meet demanding requiremen...Ensemble-Based Targeted Observation Method Applied to Radar Radial Velocity Observations on Idealized Supercell Low-Level Rotation Forecasts: A Proof of ConceptCitePersonal Author:Kerr, Christopher A. ;Wang, Xuguang2020 | Mon. Wea. Rev. (2020) 148 (3): 877–890.Description:The potential future installation of a multifunction phased-array radar (MPAR) network will provide capabilities of case-specific adaptive scanning. K...Springtime Onset of Isolated Convection Precipitation across the Southeastern United States: Framework and Regional EvolutionCitePersonal Author:Rickenbach, Thomas M. ;Ferreira, Rosana Nieto...2020 | Mon. Wea. Rev. (2020) 148 (3): 891–906.Description:This study examines the geographic and temporal characteristics of the springtime transition to the summer precipitation regime of isolated convection...Personal Author:Cornforth, Rosalind ;Parker, Douglas J., 1967-...2019 | Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. (2019) 100 (11): 2343–2351.Description:Bridging the gap between rapidly moving scientific research and specific forecasting tools, Meteorology of Tropical West Africa: The Forecasters’ Ha...Seven-Doppler Radar and In Situ Analysis of the 25–26 June 2015 Kansas MCS during PECANCitePersonal Author:Miller, Rachel L. ;Ziegler, Conrad L....2020 | Mon. Wea. Rev. (2020) 148 (1): 211–240.Description:This case study analyzes a nocturnal mesoscale convective system (MCS) that was observed on 25–26 June 2015 in northeastern Kansas during the Plains...Simulated Evolution and Severe Wind Production by the 25–26 June 2015 Nocturnal MCS from PECANCitePersonal Author:Parker, Matthew D. ;Borchardt, Brett S....2019 | Mon. Wea. Rev. (2020) 148 (1): 183–209.Description:The 25–26 June 2015 nocturnal mesoscale convective system (MCS) from the Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) field project produced severe w...Personal Author:Degelia, Samuel K. ;Wang, Xuguang...2019 | Mon. Wea. Rev. (2019) 147 (8): 2739–2764.Description:Numerical weather prediction models often fail to correctly forecast convection initiation (CI) at night. To improve our understanding of such events,...Exploring the Assimilation of GLM-Derived Water Vapor Mass in a Cycled 3DVAR Framework for the Short-Term Forecasts of High-Impact Convective EventsCitePersonal Author:Hu, Junjun ;Fierro, Alexandre O....2020 | Mon. Wea. Rev. (2020) 148 (3): 1005–1028.Description:The recent successful deployment of the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) on board the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R series (...Optimal Temporal Frequency of NSSL Phased Array Radar Observations for an Experimental Warn-on-Forecast SystemCitePersonal Author:Stratman, Derek R. ;Yussouf, Nusrat...2020 | Wea. Forecasting (2020) 35 (1): 193–214.Description:A potential replacement candidate for the aging operational WSR-88D infrastructure currently in place is the phased array radar (PAR) system. The curr...Doppler Circulation as a Fairly Range-Insensitive Far-Field Tornado Detection and Precursor ParameterCitePersonal Author:Davies-Jones, Robert ;Wood, Vincent T....2020 | J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol. (2020) 37 (6): 1117–1133.Description:Formulas are obtained for observed circulation around and contraction rate of a Doppler radar grid cell within a surface of constant launch angle. The...Personal Author:Anderson-Frey, Alexandra K. ;Brooks, Harold2019 | Wea. Forecasting (2019) 34 (6): 1999–2015.Description:Deadly tornadoes are rare events, but that level of rarity varies with many factors. In this work, we summarize and update past research on tornado fa...Evaluation of Monin–Obukhov and Bulk Richardson Parameterizations for Surface–Atmosphere ExchangeCitePersonal Author:Lee, Temple R. ;Buban, Michael2020 | J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol. (2020) 59 (6): 1091–1107.Description:The Land–Atmosphere Feedback Experiment (LAFE) was a field campaign to investigate influences of different land surface types on the atmospheric bou...An Analysis of Subdaily Severe Thunderstorm Probabilities for the United StatesCitePersonal Author:Krocak, Makenzie J. ;Brooks, Harold E.2020 | Wea. Forecasting (2020) 35 (1): 107–112.Description:One of the challenges of providing probabilistic information on a multitude of spatiotemporal scales is ensuring that information is both accurate and...Object-Based Verification of Short-Term, Storm-Scale Probabilistic Mesocyclone Guidance from an Experimental Warn-on-Forecast SystemCitePersonal Author:Flora, Montgomery L. ;Skinner, Patrick S....2019 | Wea. Forecasting (2019) 34 (6): 1721–1739.Description:An object-based verification method for short-term, storm-scale probabilistic forecasts was developed and applied to mesocyclone guidance produced by ...Assimilation of Radar Radial Velocity, Reflectivity, and Pseudo–Water Vapor for Convective-Scale NWP in a Variational FrameworkCitePersonal Author:Lai, Anwei ;Gao, Jidong...2019 | Mon. Wea. Rev. (2019) 147 (8): 2877–2900.Description:To improve severe thunderstorm prediction, a novel pseudo-observation and assimilation approach involving water vapor mass mixing ratio is proposed to...
More +
You May Also Like
- File Format:
- RIS
Contributions of Operational Satellites in Monitoring the Catastrophic Floodwaters Due to Hurricane Harvey
Cite
Personal Author:
Goldberg, Mitchell D. ;
Li, Sanmei
...
2018 | Remote Sens. 10(8), 1-11
Description:
Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category-4 storm in the United States on 25 August 2017 in Texas, causing catastrophic flooding in the Houston met...
Checkout today's featured content at repository.library.noaa.gov